BetaDwarf’s Vaultbreakers Gets Free Steam Demo as Square Enix Collective Makes Its Return
In a nutshell
- BetaDwarf and Square Enix Collective have announced a publishing partnership for the upcoming action RPG Vaultbreakers.
- A free Steam demo is available now, offering up to seven hours of gameplay in solo or co-op play.
- The announcement also marks the return of Square Enix Collective as a publishing and support initiative for independent developers.
BetaDwarf and Square Enix Collective have announced a publishing partnership for Vaultbreakers, a top-down extraction action RPG that blends intense combat, cooperative gameplay, and high-risk treasure hunting. The announcement was made during the Triple-i Initiative showcase alongside the release of a free downloadable demo on Steam.
The partnership is particularly notable as it signals the return of Square Enix Collective, a global division of Square Enix focused on providing funding, investment, and publishing support to independent game developers while allowing studios to retain creative control of their projects.
Square Enix Collective Returns to Support Indie Developers
The re-established Square Enix Collective will accept project proposals and pitch submissions from developers of all sizes and genres, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term partnerships.
For its first major partnership under the initiative’s return, the publisher has teamed up with BetaDwarf, the Danish studio behind titles such as Forced, Forced: Showdown, and Minion Masters.
What Is Vaultbreakers?
Vaultbreakers is described as a top-down, high-stakes extraction action RPG that can be played solo or with friends in both PvE and PvPvE modes. Players take on the role of powerful Champions known as Vaultbreakers, tasked with recovering legendary Artefacts from mysterious Vaults that have fallen from a floating island known as the Dragonvault.
The game combines heroic brawler combat, challenging boss encounters, dynamic world events, and extraction-style gameplay where players must successfully escape with their rewards
Free Demo Available Now on Steam
Players can jump into the action immediately through a free Steam demo, which features a portion of the game’s first map and follows an introductory questline. The demo allows players to choose between two playable Vaultbreakers:
- Nymera, an Elf ranger focused on ranged combat
- Bjornir, a warrior specializing in ice-based attacks and durability
The demo guides players toward their first Vault, culminating in a challenging boss battle. It offers up to seven hours of gameplay and supports solo play or co-op sessions with up to two additional players across two PvE difficulty settings.
The full game will expand the roster to five playable heroes and include PvPvE gameplay. The remaining three heroes will become available during an upcoming Alpha PvPvE Playtest scheduled for October 15.
